Ensemble Approaches for Dynamic Data Stream Classification Under Label Scarcity

Abstract

As data continues to grow exponentially, the importance of online learning across various domains has increased significantly. However, most existing studies assume that the true class label for each incoming data point is readily available, an assumption that is often impractical. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel algorithm called Density-based Clustering and One-Class Ensemble Active Learning (DCOE-AL). This approach constructs an ensemble model by combining a clustering algorithm with the One-Class Broad Learning System (OCBLS), which represents clusters within the feature space. Furthermore, a new active learning mechanism is developed to enable DCOE-AL to effectively handle challenges associated with concept drift and label scarcity. The proposed method is evaluated on multiple synthetic data streams that exhibit diverse types of concept drift, as well as on several real-world data streams. Comparative evaluations demonstrate that DCOE-AL achieves superior performance while requiring significantly fewer labeled samples.